I have been following the Vallow-Daybell case since early 2020 - after Nate Eaton of East Idaho News followed them to Hawaii but well before the children were found.
If you're not familiar with the case you may try this as a primer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-GuonthUgY
A Who's-Who follows at the end of this blog
It's an incredibly complicated case with multiple conspirators, multiple victims, links to multiple states - principally Idaho, Arizona, and Hawaii - and, I kid you not, religious cult practices and ZOMBIES.
What follows are my personal opinions only.
EDIT: 7th June 2024
I have now been sitting on the Death Penalty ruling for a little while. As a Brit, I am not a fan; as someone who thinks Lori is the more responsible party, I am not a fan; as someone who thought the body of evidence was weak, I am not a fan... but I'm okay with it.
Which is a relief.
The thing is, I had expected a decent defence. A scenario where it would be hard to discern where the truth lay. But we didn't have that so I am comfortably assured of his guilt.
The defence I anticipated would have gone something along the lines of
- Lori taught Chad light / dark (throw her under the bus properly)
- Lori persuaded him he had the divination skill / ability to judge light / dark, reveal death percentages, identify possessing demons etc (to explain Chad's texts - after all, we don't have evidence to real-world conversations so anything could have been said)
- Lori said Tylee had run away to Annie's (or someone else from her dad's side - to explain her absence)
- Lori said Kay had taken JJ (or someone else from his dad's side - to explain his absence)
- Chad and Lori therefore didn't have custody of any minors (explaining what happened in Hawaii)
Chad didn't have to know his new wife was still pocketing the kids' Social Security money - Lori and Alex knew when his house would be empty so they could dispose of the bodies and frame him
- The storage place video was just him helping her out with some stuff, couples do that
- Tammy died after ingesting something Chad brought home from Lori or Alex
- The whole murder-by-asphyxiation-because-they-couldn't-find-an-actual-cause-of-death thing was pretty ludicrous; and IMHO not taking a medical history from family members was an inexcusable lapse - medical records are not reliable. Neither, of course, is family testimony but it builds a picture
- Chad was an idiot, sure - but who thinks their girlfriend is bumping people off?! You just don't expect that... so he didn't see the signs
So yes, I am comfortable with the sentence passed.
Yesterday an Idaho court found Chad Guy Daybell guilty on all charges - now it is only to be decided whether he gets Life Without Parole, or the Death Penalty. His second wife, Lori Vallow (nee Cox), was convicted last year and she only escaped the possibility of being executed for her crimes by opting for a speedy trial.
I have mixed feelings about this as I am British and not a big fan of the death penalty. I can see it when there is exceptional cruelty, torture, sadism etc. but while this is NASTY I don't feel it meets my personal threshold. I am also conflicted as I feel Lori was far more guilty of the two.
There was evidence of manipulation on both sides but Joe Ryan (and Stacey Cope) died BEFORE she even met Chad. I wouldn't be at all surprised if a lot of the incriminating things he texted were seeded by Lori. Lori was the main person to benefit from ALL the deaths, even Tammy's. During the trial it was brought up how the only link between Alex and Tammy, who he tried to shoot, was Chad. That's not true: the link is LORI. Alex was trying to kill Tammy to clear the way for Lori to marry Chad... he was doing it for HER, not HIM!
In fact, had I been on the jury I couldn't have found Chad guilty on the evidence provided. Sure, it was a series of unfortunate coincidences, and there's no way on earth he was innocent, but the case never progressed onto anything solid. There were no witnesses, no forensics, none of those really damning things that seals the baddie's fate in crime dramas.
It leaves me feeling antsy about due process because if they can convict someone of first degree murder on so little there's not much hope of justice for the wrongly accused.
Just because the kids bodies were buried on his property doesn't mean he had to have known they were there... by that logic Tammy and their son Garth both had to be in on it too cos they were there as well!
I would have thought there'd be SOMETHING tangible - a witness to the fire that destroyed Tylee for example, someone who'd seen him dig the pit or collect the firewood. The police found Tylee's DNA on a couple of Chad's tools but opted not to fingerprint them to see who'd handled them last?! Honestly, I'm with John Prior (Chad's lawyer) on that one - it had been the best part of a year and Chad hadn't cleaned or reused the tools to destroy that evidence??? Yeah, that screams set-up.
Tammy's death bothers me enormously: there was no technical cause of death found so they ruled asphyxiation / homicide. HUH?
People die in their sleep, suddenly and of no apparent cause, all the time. SIDS (Cot Death) is well known about in infants but at any age essentially the same thing can happen, something a lot of people don't know about until it happens to someone close. Just because you can't find a cause does not equal murder, any more than multiple cot deaths in a family indicates murder (see: Sir Roy Meadow).
One suspected case I recall was that of the son of British actor Nicholas Lyndhurst; a second (private) autopsy found the cause of death to be leukaemia. Did they check Tammy for leukaemia? Her family said she'd been tired, breathless, bruised easily... all of which would fit.
The fact that they relied on her medical record and didn't talk to her family is incredibly problematic to me. Although it is dangerous to BELIEVE the family they certainly ought to be part of the investigation. For example, they made a big deal of sleep apnoea not being on her medical record but that just means she never sought treatment or diagnosis - at least one of her kids claims that they and Tammy's father have it. That's what we'd call a relevant family history right there; an inherited trait to STOP BREATHING IN YOUR SLEEP (which would also explain Tammy's alleged tiredness).
Tammy allegedly didn't like doctors so there'd likely be a lot missing from the official record; people don't tell their doctors everything even if they do go regularly. Then there's the fact doctors don't record everything accurately - I know my own records have errors, omissions, and outright lies in them. This idea that your doctor *knows* you hasn't been true for most people in generations!
Don't get me wrong, it would be unbelievable if Tammy's death was actually natural but if she was asphyxiated I feel sure there should have been more proof of it - it's possible to do without leaving trace evidence (fibres in the lungs etc) but you'd expect more injuries from crushing, restraining, or fighting back.
I also want to know exactly how they ruled out poisoning by malachite: Chad and Lori were all about malachite, repeatedly referenced 'malachite balm', malachite is highly poisonous and causes symptoms very like those experienced by Tammy and Alex.
Basically, I think they missed something and I don't like that they got a First Degree Murder conviction anyway.
One of the big GOT YOU! moments in the trial was in rebuttal where it came up that (1) Chad had searched how to turn off the location / GPS data on an iphone (Jan 2019) - Chad had an Android not an iPhone - (2) and an application to delete the location / GPS data associated with his account (Aug 2019) but his PC wasn't secure and was located in a family room so they can't prove either action was him (I didn't catch them say the application was made from a secure phone and not the desktop). Also, if he was smart enough to wipe his location data (incidentally this was before Lori and the kids had moved to Idaho, before he was even in the frame for anything) how did he not think to wipe his search history?!
IMHO all they *actually* proved was that Chad had an affair with and married a woman who was, along with her now-conveniently-deceased brother, implicated up to her eyebrows. Doesn't seem enough to me.
As I say though, there's no doubt Chad is guilty - your wife dies mysteriously (while you're having an affair with a woman whose last two husbands have also died mysteriously) and re-marry SEVENTEEN DAYS LATER??? Her minor kids go missing and you stay married, you go to Hawaii where she claims she has no minor kids and you stay married, she gets arrested and you stay married, the kids turn up murdered on your property and you get arrested too and you stay married, she is tried and convicted and sentenced to life without parole and you STILL STAY MARRIED??? That's not what innocent people do!!!
Who's Who
Killers and Conspirators
Lori Cox Vallow - mother and murderer; convicted 2023
Chad Daybell - Lori's 5th husband, murderer; convicted 30th May 2024. Wannabe religious leader / prophet
Alexander Lamar 'Alex' Cox Pastenes (51) 2019 - brother of Lori, alleged murderer (died before he could be investigated)
Zulema Pastenes - wife of Alex for about 5 minutes before he died, most people following the case suspect she was a co-conspirator as she was a follower of Chad & Lori
Melani Cope Boudreaux Pawlowski - Lori's niece, most people following the case suspect she was a co-conspirator as she was a follower of Chad & Lori. Her ex husband Brandon was the target of a botched shooting by Alex. She is now remarried and has at least one more child
Victims and those who died under suspicious circumstances
Stacey Cox Cope (31) 1998 - Lori's sister, mother of Melani. Her death was mysterious and while all the family but Alex were away... While most followers of the case consider Joe the first victim those who know about Stacey's death have other ideas. Curiously Lori had ANOTHER deceased sister, Laura Lee, who died in 1971 aged 42 days. That was two years before Lori was born but Lori creepily adopted Laura's nickname - Lolly - as her own
Joseph Anthony 'Joe' Ryan Jr (59) 2018 - Lori's 3rd husband, they had been acrimoniously divorced for many years at the time of his death. Supposedly died of a heart attack but his ex wife Lori both had him cremated without informing his family, and she got life insurance from him. Most people following the case believe he was Lori and Alex's first victim (see Stacey Cox Cope)
Leland Anthony 'Charles' Vallow (62) 2019 - Lori's 4th husband; was shot dead in supposed self defence by Alex Cox; Lori is to stand trial for his murder. Lori was shocked to discover Charles had changed his life insurance beneficiary to Kay
Tylee Ryan (17) 2019 - Lori's daughter, born to her 3rd husband Joe Ryan; her burned and dismembered remains were found on Chad Daybell's property. Lori continued to draw Social Security money for Tylee relating to Joe's death
Joshua Jaxon 'JJ' Vallow né Canaan Todd Trahan (7) 2019 - Lori's son, adopted with her 4th husband Charles Vallow; biological grandson of Kay Woodcock; found buried (intact) on Chad Daybell's property. Lori continued to draw Social security money for JJ relating to Charles' death
Tamara 'Tammy' Douglas Daybell (49) 2019 - Chad's 1st wife; prior to 'dying in her sleep' she was the target of a botched shooting by Alex Cox
Alexander Lamar 'Alex' Cox Pastenes (51) 2019 - see under 'killers and conspirators'
People on Chad and Lori's 'Dark' List (aka potential victims)
Brandon Boudreaux - Melani's 1st husband; Brandon was the alleged target of a botched shooting by Alex Cox
Braxton, Brees, Brighton, and Blake Boudreaux - at least two of Melani and Brandon's children were on the dark list; they are now in their father's custody
Heather Daybell - Chad's sister-in-law, wife of his brother Matt
Detective Ray Hermosillo - a police officer investigating Chad and Lori
Samantha Gwilliam - Chad's sister-in-law, sister of Tammy
Kay Woodcock - Kay was Charles Vallow's sister; Kay was the biological grandmother of JJ. If she had not called for a welfare check on JJ Lori and Chad might've got away with it. Kay and her husband Larry have been front and centre advocating for Lori and Chad's victims. lori had alternately claimed Kay was trying to abduct JJ and, after his disappearance, that he had gone to live with Kay.
Adam Cox - Lori's only surviving brother; Lori claimed he was out to kill her. Adam was a friend of Charles and they had hoped to stage an intervention to protect the kids... but then Charles was killed
Survivors (close relations not mentioned above - incomplete)
Colby Ryan - Lori's surviving (adult) child, born to her 2nd husband and adopted by her 3rd. When he was contacted about JJ's disappearance he asked after Tylee... who the police didn't even know about at that time!
Summer Cox Shiflet - Lori's only surviving sister
Emma Murray, Garth Daybell, Mark Daybell, Seth Daybell, Leah Murphy - Chad and Tammy's adult children
Other
Mandy Leger (46) 2022 - JJs biological mother. Lost custody to Kay and Larry Woodcock due to substance abuse issues and initially had visitation but JJ was adopted out while she was in rehab which devastated her. She had always hoped to be reunited with her son but her world fell apart when he was murdered. She died of a heart condition... or a broken heart.
Dennis Todd 'Todd' Trahan - JJs biological father. Lost custody to Kay and Larry (his mother and stepfather) due to substance abuse issues and initially had visitation. Trahan, as of JJ and Tylee's celebration of life in April 2024, was incarcerated.
